Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for raising a warning flag or pennant deployed on a motor boat to indicate that a water skier towed by the boat has fallen, and more particularly to a motorized electrical device for reliably raising a flag either manually when triggered by the motor boat operator or passenger, or automatically when the tow rope is released, indicating that the water skier has fallen into the water.
With the ever-increasing popularity of water sports, the number of water skiers has steadily increased, bringing ever larger numbers of water skiers and ski boats to a relatively fixed number of water recreation areas. While water skiers are sufficiently visible while skiing to prevent all but the most careless of boating accidents, the sport presents one extremely dangerous situation--namely that of the downed water skier.
It will be recognized that even the most skilled of water skiers will occasionally fall, and that most water skiers in recreational areas have a level of skill in the sport which is far less than highly skilled. This, of course, means that each ski boat is likely to have relatively frequent incidents in which the skier being towed from the boat is down in the water. The relatively great speed of motor boats and the relatively poor visibility of a downed water skier in the water makes spotting a downed water skier a difficult task requiring both concentration and a high degree of care.
In most instances the only visible indication of the presence of a downed water skier is a bobbing head in the water. In addition, in at least in some instances, the water skier may be briefly under the water, making the water skier even more difficult to spot. A downed water skier struck by a boat will likely be struck in the head, since it is the waters skier's head which is presented to the boat due to its location on the surface of the water. As such, a water skier in the water represents a potential fatality if struck by a boat, due to the speed and force with which a boat is likely to strike the water skier.
A common precaution in the sport is the use of an observer seated in the stern of the ski boat. The observer may quickly signal the driver when the water skier falls, and direct the driver to stop and return to the site where the water skier is floating. In fact, in many local jurisdictions, the presence of an observer is required by law. While the presence of an observer will ensure that the ski boat returns promptly to the site of a downed water skier, such an observer is not of great utility in warning other boats in the area that the water skier is down.
The observer may attempt to wave off boats approaching the site of the downed water skier, but it is unlikely that the observer will be heard or understood by operators of other boats due to the normal noise level of motor boats. The observer may even inadvertently act as a distraction to operators of other boats, thereby in fact increasing the likelihood that the operators of other boats will not see the downed water skier.
One early attempt to present a warning to other boats in the area involved attaching a warning device to the water skier, to thereby give the water skier greater visibility when down in the water. Unfortunately, the only way such a device could be readily visible was if it was attached to the water skier's head. Needless to say, relatively few water skiers care to damage their image by wearing cumbersome and unsightly paraphernalia on their heads. This strategy has therefore proved undesirable, and has never achieved great usage.
The signaling device that has shown the most promise is the warning flag or pennant, which is raised manually or otherwise when the water skier falls in order to warn operators of other boats that a downed water skier is in the vicinity. In fact, in areas under its jurisdiction, the United States Coast Guard has required that ski boats display a warning flag indicating the presence of a water skier in the water following a fall or other incident.
As with any rule of its type, adherence to this rule is directly proportional to the convenience of complying. If a flag is aboard, and if it is convenient to do so, the observer or operator may display the flag. Otherwise, no warning signal is given to protect the water skier down in the water.
As might be expected, a better potential solution to the problem was shortly forthcoming in the form of devices which were more convenient, or at least somewhat automatic in the deployment of a warning flag from a ski boat when the water skier was down in the water. By way of example, the former is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,778, to Palmer et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,796, to Pressler et al., which both teach devices in which a flag and a flag pole are permanently mounted onto a ski boat at a location near the operator's position.
The flag pole in these devices is movable between two locking positions, one an undeployed or horizontal position, and the other a deployed or upright position. These devices are a step in the right direction since they ensure that a flag is conveniently located near the operator. However, with each of these devices, if the operator forgets to raise the flag, or deliberately does not raise it, there will be no warning flag displayed.
The other potential solution is even more desirable, in that devices which fall into the category designed to automatically raise a warning flag when the water skier is down in the water will be inherently more likely to ensure that a warning flag is deployed to indicate that the water skier is down in the water. These devices have been for the most part entirely mechanical in nature, and typically have a spring means which acts to urge the flag into an upright position. The flag is retained in a downward position by the tension of the ski rope, and when a water skier falls and drops the rope, the flag is raised.
One example of such a device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,188, to Penaflor, which describes a flag which pops up out of an essentially vertical cylinder when the tension on a tow rope is released. The Penaflor device also has an optional warning light on the driver's panel. A second example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,724, to Miller et al., which teaches a flag mounted on a flag pole which swings from a horizontal position to a vertical position when the tension on the tow rope is released.
A third example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,244, to Young et al., which uses the release of tension on the tow rope to free a spring-loaded flag. A fourth example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,631, to Langford, which uses the release of tension on the tow rope to signal an alarm which sounds until a flag is raised, either manually by the operator, or automatically by the system. Yet another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,320, to Lewis et al. which shows both a manual flag and an automatic flag similar to the Miller et al. device mentioned above.
Such devices have several problems inherent in their designs. First, if the water skier is caught on the tow rope, the flag will not deploy, even though the skier in completely in the water. In some circumstances, even though the water skier has released the tow rope, the drag of the rope in the water may prevent the flag from being deployed, especially as the device gets older and exhibits some degree of wear.
If multiple water skiers are being towed behind a single boat, either only one of the tow ropes will operate the flag, or the flag will not be operated until all of the skiers are simultaneously down in the water. Finally, it is apparent that in devices relying on tension in the tow rope to keep the flag down, the flag will be fully deployed when the skier is getting ready to be towed, or even when the boat is not being used for water skiing. The flag would have to be fastened down by rope or the like to keep it out of the deployed position.
An important note to make regarding the performance of all of these somewhat automatic devices is that the operator of the boat, or the observer in the boat, can not manually cause the flag to be raised. Only the fully manual systems allow the operator or the observer to raise the flag at all. Thus, all of the devices described above except for the fully manual devices will only operate to raise the flag when all of the tension is removed from the tow rope.
A substantially improved signaling device was taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,784, to Little, the inventor of the present invention. It should be noted that the present invention represents an improvement to device illustrated in the Little patent.
It is accordingly the primary objective of the signaling device of the present invention that it be capable of operating positively and dependably without requiring as a basis for operation the existence of a lack of tension in the tow rope. As such, it is a related objective that the signaling device of the present invention should desirably be capable of operation quickly and automatically when a skier falls, yet in a manner not precluding manual actuation by the operator of the ski boat or by an observer in the boat. The signaling device of the present invention thus should include apparatus allowing for manual actuation of the device by the operator of the boat or by an observer in the boat in emergency situations, in addition to its automatic actuation capability.
It is also an objective that the signaling device of the present invention be usable with a boat towing a plurality of water skiers, and as such it must be operable to automatically raise the flag when any one of the water skiers is down in the water. It is yet another objective that the mechanism used by the signaling device of the present invention to raise the flag be highly compact in size, unlike past purely mechanical designs, while presenting a character of operation which is better than such past mechanical designs. In addition, it is a further objective of the present invention that the signaling device be installable on any boat in an easy and expeditious manner, and that it be installable onto a boat without requiring the assistance of a professional.
The signaling device of the present invention must also be of construction which is both durable and long lasting, and it should additionally require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. In order to enhance the market appeal of the signaling device of the present invention, it should also be of inexpensive construction to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the signaling device of the present invention be achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage.